


the enemy of my enemy (must be my ally)

by emilieee



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bamf marinette, Crack, F/M, Humour, gabriel is terrified by marinette like he should be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:01:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25168135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilieee/pseuds/emilieee
Summary: When one of his akumas attacks Adrien and one of his classmates, Gabriel Agreste discovers that Marinette Dupain-Cheng would prove a very useful ally against Ladybug and Chat Noir.How had he not discovered sooner? But oh well—better late than never. Ladybug will never know what’s coming.
Comments: 152
Kudos: 846





	the enemy of my enemy (must be my ally)

**Author's Note:**

> i made a post about how marinette picking up a desk to throw at an akuma n it spiralled. i spiralled. read at your own risk. 
> 
> feat: gabriel agreste's 2 functional brain cells

Gabriel Agreste isn’t past admitting his mistakes. 

Most of them have involved Adrien, so he supposes that it’s time to pay attention to the trend. And all of those mistakes have involved his growing career as Hawkmoth—and, more specifically, the choices he makes for whom he akumatizes. 

Lila Rossi, now known as Princess Perfect—seriously, what the  _ hell  _ was wrong with this girl? He’d given her the liberty of choosing her akuma name, but such a godawful name is a bad reflection on  _ him  _ as well—kicks down the door of the classroom. 

He sees it all through Lila’s eyes, like he does with all the akumas. Doesn’t mean he’s particularly happy about the turnout of this particular akumatization. 

“What are you doing?” Gabriel demands to her. “I want Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous! You’re going the wrong way.” 

_ Relax.  _ Lila’s voice drifts into his head.  _ I need to take a little detour.  _

“What detour—”  _ Oh. Oh, shit.  _

In the classroom, packing their bags, is his son and that Chinese girl with pigtails—Marinette. The one that Gabriel knows Lila Rossi intensely hates. The one that  _ he  _ doesn’t like either, because for some reason, his son is infatuated with her. It’s Marinette-this, Marinette-that these days, and Adrien just  _ won’t  _ stop gushing about her.  _ Father, look at these designs! They’re Marinette’s. Father, look who’s on the news—it’s Marinette! Father, can you hire Marinette to work at Gabriel Brand?  _

Marinette, a real headache. Gabriel rubs his temples. Maybe it’s a good thing that Lila’s after her. Better to nip it in the bud before Adrien’s attachment becomes a  _ real  _ problem. 

“Fine,” he grounds out to Lila. “But leave Ad—leave the blonde boy alone.” 

_ Already ahead of you, Hawkie.  _

“Don’t call me that!”

She ignores him in favour of turning to the two victims. Adrien is standing in front of Marinette, arms spread in a protective stance, glaring at the akuma. For a couple moments, nobody speaks. 

Then, Marinette, eyebrows furrowing, says, “You’re Lila, aren’t you. Seriously? What is this—your  _ third  _ akumatization? Fourth?” 

“My name is Princess Perfect now,” Lila growls back. “Get out of my way, Adrien.” 

Marinette literally gags. “Did Hawkmoth choose that name for you?” 

“ _ No, I didn’t,”  _ Gabriel seethes. Unfortunately, none of them can hear him. 

“Yes, he did,” Lila lies breezily. “But that’s not important. You think you’re such a hot shot, Marinette? You think you can take the spotlight from me without repercussions? I’m going to make sure everyone hates you and loves me, and you’ll learn your lesson for trying to cross  _ me.  _ After all, who can say  _ no  _ to Princess Perfect?” 

Gabriel sighs through his nose. Are  _ all  _ teens this dramatic? 

Apparently, they are. Betrayal comes from those closest to home, because it’s Adrien that holds up his arms even higher, still staring Lila down. “You’re going to have to go through me if you want to hurt her,” he promises. “Marinette, get out of here! Run!” 

_ Oh, for heaven’s sake— _

Two things happen at once. Lila darts towards them, her whip lashing out  _ directly at Adrien.  _ Gabriel swears under his breath—why isn’t Adrien moving out of the way? Why is he so intent on protecting that useless girl? “Lila!” he barks through the bond, but the akumatized girl is too far gone. “Touch him and I’ll make sure—” 

Gabriel trails into dumbfounded silence when Marinette shoves Adrien aside,  _ grabs  _ the end of Lila’s whip, and tugs the weapon straight out of the girl’s hands. 

“You’ve gone too far,” she growls in a tone so chilly that it even reaches  _ him _ . “Adrien, get out of here! I can handle her.” 

Lila’s own shock lasts for a couple of times before she regains some of her composure. “You?” she sneers. “Handle me? Why, you pathetic—” 

Adrien chucks a pencil case at Lila. It hits her cheek, and she whirls on him, enraged. At the same time, Marinette darts away from the window and slides behind the large wooden desk at the front. Gabriel, still watching the scene unfold, scoffs. So for all her big talk, she’s still nothing but a coward. 

“Stand down,” he commands Lila once more. “Don’t you  _ dare  _ touch Adrien—what the  _ hell?”  _

Lila seems to have noticed the source of his bewilderment as well, but it’s far too late. From underneath the desk, Marinette has  _ lifted  _ the thing—the giant, wooden desk—onto her shoulders. 

Gabriel’s positive he stops breathing. 

“Wait—” Lila begins. He sees it all through her eyes: Marinette braces herself for a moment and then throws it—throws the  _ desk  _ that a grown man shouldn’t be able to lift—right at Lila. 

She doesn’t stand a chance. Lila goes down in a crash, pinned under the weight of Ms. Bustier’s desk that this small, petite girl had somehow bench-pressed and then chucked. 

As much as Lila struggles, she is unable to remove the desk from on top of her. Given that his akumas have enhanced strength and she’s still incapable of lifting it, just  _ how strong  _ is Marinette? 

Said girl in question stalks over to Lila. She plants a foot firmly against the overturned side of the desk and looks down at the girl trapped underneath. 

Gabriel is certain that somehow, impossible as it sounds, Marinette is staring right through Lila’s eyes, through their connection, and into his own. His body freezes. His jaw locks. And for the first time in a very, very long time, Gabriel Agreste is absolutely terrified. 

“Next time you try something like this,” Marinette growls, leaning in, “I won’t let you off so easily.” 

With that ominous note, she snatches the necklace off Lila’s neck and marches right out of the classroom. 

Gabriel remains frozen for a couple more moments. He isn’t certain if he still remembers  _ how  _ to breathe. 

It wasn’t Ladybug nor Chat Noir that had foiled this plan. No, it was Adrien Agreste’s classmate, a girl who had previously annoyed him, that had single handedly defeated an akuma and scared him absolutely shitless. 

_ What. The. Fuck.  _

***

“Adrien,” Gabriel says over dinner. “You know that girl you always talk about? Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” 

His son looks up from his meal with a bright look on his face. Once upon a time, Gabriel would’ve been annoyed. Now, after reevaluating the girl, he comes to the conclusion that it’s best Adrien stays on Marinette’s good side. She’s probably more than capable of beating his son up. 

“Yeah, Marinette?” Adrien echoes. “You know how there was an akuma attack today? Well, Marinette was actually there in the classroom with me when the akuma came for us.” 

Gabriel is forced to play ignorant. “Oh? What happened?” 

“Well, the akuma tried to attack us, and Marinette picked up a desk—you might find it hard to believe, and honestly I would’ve too if I hadn’t seen her do it—and threw it at the akuma. When Ladybug and Chat Noir finally showed up, there wasn’t even anything for them to do.” 

Gabriel shifts in his seat. “That is… rather unbelievable."

Except he swears he can still feel the heat of Marinette’s glare, and is forced to accept that this is the reality he’s living in. 

“Why did you ask about her, though, father?” 

He snaps back into the present. “Huh?” 

“Marinette—why did you ask about her? Wait, father, are you reconsidering hiring her? Did you finally look at the designs I sent you? This is  _ amazing.  _ I’m sure she’ll do amazing. Your stocks will rise. You’ll get more customers. Marinette’s basically a walking lucky charm—this will be the  _ best  _ decision you’ve ever made, father. I promise.” 

He frowns at Adrien. “Don’t make preposterous suggestions. But yes— I am considering giving Marinette Dupain-Cheng a job at the company, perhaps an internship one of the senior designers. She’s very… talented.” 

He thinks of the way she’d lifted the desk and flung it at Lila. Talented, indeed. 

Perhaps talented enough to finally give him an edge against Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

***

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is more than eager to come in for a so-called interview. Nathalie has done her digging on the girl: she’s made it pretty big quite a couple times already, in the fashion industry  _ and  _ has quite a few connections. Even if Gabriel’s motivations aren’t technically for the company, he has to admit that she has much future potential to tap into in the future. But for now, that’s not his goal. 

She’s impeccably dressed when Nathalie leads her inside his study. Her eyes are positively shining when she beams at Gabriel. “Mr. Agreste!” Marinette chirps. “I’m  _ so  _ happy to be here. When Adrien told me you wanted to interview me for the job…this is such an amazing opportunity to be presented with, and I am  _ so  _ honoured.” 

Gabriel exchanges a glance with Nathalie. She nods subtly. 

“It’s my pleasure to meet you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng.” He rises from his desk and holds out his hand for her to shake. She does so. 

It takes all of Gabriel’s self-control not to show the pain on his face when she grips his hand. 

_ How the  _ fuck  _ is this girl so strong?  _

Thankfully, Marinette doesn’t seem to notice anything wrong. Gabriel draws back his hand and tucks it behind his back. It’s throbbing. 

“So, Marinette.” He sits back down at his desk. Marinette is practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. If she were any normal person, Gabriel might’ve snapped at her to settle down, but after that show with Lila yesterday, he decides that it’s for his own good not to get on her bad side. He’ll just have to channel all his patience—for self-preservation, really. “I understand that you’re interested in interning at my company?” 

She nods excitedly. “I’ve been designing for years, Mr. Agreste—I’m aware that I have a lot to improve on—” 

“What I have in mind for you—” Gabriel pauses, realizing that he’d interrupted her. Hurriedly, he gulps. “Never mind. Continue.” 

“I’m aware that I have a lot to improve on but I’m a very quick learner! I promise I’ll do my very best to help you and your company.” 

He nods. “That’s good to hear. For now, I’ll… I’ll arrange with Nathalie what we can assign you to do in the company. And I have another favour to ask of you, if it’s not too much.” 

Marinette smiles. “Whatever it is, I’ll do my best to help you!” 

Nathalie had warned him to be careful with Marinette—one wrong move and he could be ousted as Hawkmoth. He takes a deep breath. “I have become aware that there are some bad influences around my son in school. You are friends with Adrien, yes?” 

“Yes, and… bad influences?” Marinette frowns, shifting her weight. “Oh, yeah, there’s one in particular. Actually, I’m not sure if you’re aware, Mr. Agreste, but I’m glad you brought it up. You know that akuma yesterday? That girl’s name was Lila Rossi. She’s been hanging around Adrien quite a bit these days, and ‘bad influence’  _ barely _ covers what she does. And—oh! When I confronted her once about making Adrien uncomfortable, she told me she had a ‘friend in a high place’ that was backing her up. I think you might want to look into that too, Mr. Agreste. It was pretty worrisome, to be honest.” 

Gabriel’s mouth has gone dry. “I… yes. Yes, I shall look into that too.” 

Marinette rolls her shoulders. “God, if I knew who they were, I’d throw them into the Seine. How  _ dare  _ they.” Then her eyes widen. “Sorry, Mr. Agreste! I was just… um, I was just talking to myself. I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s perfectly alright,” Gabriel reassures immediately, although it doesn’t do much to ease the chill that is travelling up his spine. “Then it’s decided? Nathalie will give you her contact information—you can send her your resume just for formalities, and she will organize the rest. And… be sure to keep an eye on my son at school.” 

“I will!” Marinette chirps, ever so chipper. Behind that attitude lies the strength to lift the desk he’s currently sitting and crush him. And much, much more. 

Nathalie guides the girl away. Gabriel is unable to breathe fully until she leaves. 

He has to calculate this well, because he can’t afford to lose a potential ally like Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He’s already thinking—perhaps she would do well with the Peacock Miraculous, or the Bee Miraculous, if he can get his hands on it again. If— _ if  _ he can somehow convince Marinette to help him with his cause, all of his other plans don’t even need to go into action. Ladybug and Chat Noir will  _ never  _ see this coming. 

Nathalie returns. “Sir, your face is rather pale,” she notes. “But may I ask what that was about? You were… unusually lenient today.”

Gabriel clears his throat and straightens in his seat. “Never mind me,” he dismisses. “But first, I need to contact Lila Rossi as soon as possible to cut off all ties. Let her know she’s fired.” 

“Is this because…?” 

He allows himself a small smile. “You’ll see soon, Nathalie,” he reassures. “We’ve  _ finally  _ got the upperhand in this fight.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr at [e-milieeee!](https://e-milieeee.tumblr.com/)


End file.
